


Trust Falls

by TazWren



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Office, Ben is not amused, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, I can't tag worth shit 😁, No phones or laptops were harmed in the making of this fic, Rey is a jerk, Rey totally has a potty mouth, Swearing, Thigh grab!, Trust Falls, UST, Will they won't they?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-07 18:33:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21462616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TazWren/pseuds/TazWren
Summary: Rey Jackson is a hot-shot sales rep who has no time for processes or for IT. Ben Solo is the head of IT who has no time for Rey's carelessness. Can two people who never see eye-to-eye find common ground?Or, how getting an armful of Ben Solo turns Rey's world on its head.A gift fic for the Thirst Order Gifting Season
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 36
Kudos: 225
Collections: The Thirst Order - TWD House Swolo, Thirstie Gifting Season 2019 - The Thirst Order





	Trust Falls

**Author's Note:**

  * For [msdes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/msdes/gifts).

> Season's Greetings, Des!💙
> 
> I tried to hit the tropes I'm told you like... 
> 
> This fic was _such_ a blast to write and I hope it puts a smile on your face this Thirstie Season 😁
> 
> **
> 
> Expansion of terms you'll come across in the fic:
> 
> IT - Information Technology. Or the guys who make sure all company / company-issued computer systems, devices and related process are running properly. 
> 
> Sales Rep - Sales person / seller
> 
> Cabin - a small, closed office
> 
> Quarter - 3 month segment of the company financial year (e.g Jan-Feb-Mar as Q1)
> 
> SOX Cert - Sarbanes Oxley certification, something every seller is required to confirm at the end of each financial quarter, by most companies these days.

“Seriously, what is his problem? Why can’t he just fix my shit without giving me lip for it?”

Rey slapped her printouts on the desk before collapsing in her chair and turning to glare at her partner in crime sitting across the shared office from her.

Looking up at Rey briefly, from over her glasses, Rose scoffed and turned back to her multiple computer screens. “Maybe if you didn’t go in bristling every single time? Or maybe if you didn’t keep breaking your shit he wouldn’t get so worked up with you.”

“I’ll show him worked up,” Rey grumbled, knowing Rose was right but not wanting to admit it. 

A few minutes later she swung back around, pen raised to make a point, “Also, why the fuck is an IT guy so… so _ built _ dammit? I mean, aren’t they all supposed to be pasty fuckers?”

“Is the question about the pasty bit or the fucker bit? While you think about that, quietly, imma get this presentation done.” Rose smirked as she pulled her headphones on in readiness to get onto a call with a customer.

Rose and Rey. Tico and Jackson. Any which way you put them together, they were the best Sales and PreSales Tech team the territory had, their quarterly numbers consistently trending north, ensuring both of them not only hit their comp numbers but also their bonuses. Every year.

And if that meant a few broken laptops or phones, because Rey was always dropping things, the company was happy to replace her gear. No questions asked. Not so when it came to the King of the Underworld, Ben Solo. The head of the IT queue and the only person who did not think the sun shone out of Rey’s ass. 

On the surface, she gave as good as she got, meeting his scathing remarks with volleys of her own. However, in the privacy of her mind, she wished he would though… think about her ass, that is. ‘Cause she sure as heck couldn’t stop thinking about his ridiculously muscular and ripped physique.

From the first moment that Rey had seen Ben, ironically when she’d had to take her laptop in for a fix, she’d been struck by the contrast between his quiet manner, working behind the scenes in the IT department, and his fit body that spoke of many hours spent honing it. 

That was the first time that her mind had drifted to him as the object of her fantasizing. The second time had been when he admonished her carelessness, disapproval written all over his face, when she’d gone back to IT, with her phone this time, glaring at the spiderweb of cracks that made using the screen almost impossible. 

“Can you fix that, like in the next half hour?” She nibbled at the tip of her finger, conscious both of the spectre of a deadline looming over her head, as well as the literal giant looming over her, her phone dwarfed in his large hand. “I have to be out of here by then.”

“What’s your ticket number?” He asked, as he turned the phone over and peered at it closely, muttering as he did, “What on earth… you need to be more careful with these devices.”

“I don’t have a ticket number.”

Stopping what he was doing he looked up and then made to hand the phone back to her, shaking his head. “You need a ticket number before anyone can work on this.”

_ What? No! There was no time… Wedge would kill her if she missed this meeting! _

“Listen, I don’t have the time for a ticket, do you get that?” She bounced in place, leaning to pin him with a hard look, ignoring the phone he was holding out. “I _ have _ to be out of here and in a customer presentation. I need this phone.”

His mouth tightened, and he placed the phone down on the counter next to him. “I’m sorry, I can’t help you without a ticket number. This needs to come through the queue. You can get one at the machine over by the entrance.” Turning, he walked away, leaving Rey sputtering at his retreating back, and yelling after him, “Hey! This is urgent okay, Solo?!”

“Get a ticket, Jackson.” He called back and shut the door to his cabin.

When she’d gone back again a few weeks later, her laptop the victim this time around, he hadn’t even bothered being polite. Of course, she had been arguing with the engineer at the desk, but then she’d been on a deadline. Again.

Given Rey’s cavalier attitude towards her equipment her visits to IT increased, and inevitably, so did her go-arounds with Ben Solo. It wasn’t like she was wrecking equipment on purpose, though she would never admit to her own clumsiness. Contrarily, every time she got into a fight with Ben, she found that it just served to heat her blood even more. The way his eyes flashed as he pushed words out past gritted teeth, a muscle in his jaw ticking like a metronome. The way the shirt stretched across his chest as he drew an angry breath and crossed his arms. Those arms, they were her kryptonite, especially when he wore his shirtsleeves rolled up. 

For all that she could never get Ben out of her head, he never once looked at her with anything other than disapproval or a sneer. Which was probably for the best considering that Rey now spent a confusing amount of time griping about how much grief he gave her.

She concluded that Ben Solo was best left as the poster boy of her fantasies because the reality only met her with servings of caustic displeasure.

...

“Good job Jackson!” Whoops greeted Rey as she walked into the office, tired after a longhaul flight, but nothing was going to keep her from being there to soak in the rewards of her efforts. Snap stuck his hand out for a high five as she walked past his cubicle, and Rose popped out of their office to squeal at her.

“You did it, bish!” 

“I sure did!” Rey couldn’t help the matching grin that lit up her face. 

It had been the toughest sell of her life and she’d finally taken the call to go camp out at the customer’s location for a week, in front of the CIO’s office until he got tired of walking past her with averted eyes. A whirlwind forty eight hours later and she’d not only gotten him to commit to making the buy in current quarter, but had also gotten him to issue an approval to purchasing to give her the order. She hadn't been able to wait long enough for it to come in via a distributor and for her to be emailed a signed copy. Right there, right then, she’d whipped her pen out—a silver chased Cross fountain pen—and had the man sign on the dotted line in front of her. 

The online process having been kicked off, she’d clutched the precious order in her hands and had boarded her flight back home with the thrill of victory coursing through her veins. She, Rey Jackson, had just brought home the most elusive customer they’d every signed in her biggest contract yet, and right as it came down to the wire for the final quarter of the year. She and Rose were definitely going to Winners' Circle! There was no way they would miss being in the prestigious club of top performers come the company kickoff. 

Wedge walked out of his corner office, leading the floor in a round of applause as he stopped in front of her and held his hand out. Grinning up at her boss, Rey slipped a hand into her messenger bag, fingers curling around the precious papers she’d stuck in a plastic file before she left for the airport. Handing it to Wedge with a flourish, Rey couldn’t help the wicked grin that flashed across her face when his eyes caught the little red bow she’d stuck in a corner and his eyebrows rose.

“All wrapped up in a pretty bow, eh?”

“You bet!”

“Fantastic, good job Rey. Make sure you take some down time, because I expect you to come back harder in the next year.” Then, raising his voice, “People, this is what perseverance looks like! Go for the jugular, and do _ not _ let go!”

Stepping back Wedge pointed a finger at Rey. “Do NOT forget to get your SOX cert done today - I’ve had enough reminders from HR and IT and you are the only person in my team who’s still pending action. The deadline is at the end of the day today, or else you’re getting cited. Don’t fuck this up, or the entire order goes on hold.”

“On it boss, As soon as I get online, right now!” Rey forced a cheerful smile as a dual spike of excitement and anger jumped in her. In the moment of her greatest triumph, Ben Solo still found a way to drag her back to earth.

…

“No, no, no! Rose, this can’t be happening, not now!” Rey clutched her hair as she stared at her flickering laptop screen later that afternoon. She’d just thrown her bags in her cabin and then headed out for a long, leisurely lunch with Rose, filling her in on the action from the past few days, and then proceeding to let themselves celebrate with a wee drink in the middle of the work day. 

Now, back at her desk, she stared in horror at the laptop that she appeared to have broken. Again. Not that it was a problem in and of itself, she would get a replacement, but she was aware of every tick of the clock as her deadline loomed closer to complete her certification. Every company insisted on their sales employees completing the Sarbanes Oxley certification to confirm the integrity of their selling process. Now, she would argue that any fool can tick a check box and click on a button. Only, now she was the fool who could not. She could not lose that order, not after all the blood and sweat and grit. 

“Try the phone app, they just rolled it out a few days ago.”

“Can’t I just do this on your system?” Rey whined, knowing she’d never had the best luck with trying new apps.

“I wish you could, babe, but I just started compiling a demo and I can’t switch screens when I have an active instance running.” Rose sounded apologetic for barely a moment, “Maybe it's time you visited your favorite person.” She even went so far as to waggle her eyebrows suggestively.

“Shit, no, anything but that!” Rey pawed through her phone, hunting for the email from IT that would give her the links to be able to certify from her phone. She knew she should have done this right after the quarter end, but then she’d been too busy flying back home. And maybe thinking to herself that it couldn’t possibly apply to her, they’d be some leeway. After all she’d just closed the largest deal of the year. For the company, not just for her territory.

“Rose, I can’t get this to work!” Her voice rose, edged in panic

“Calm down, try it again… you may have entered the wrong credentials.”

Taking and losing a deep breath, she tried again. _No, failure, unknown entity._ _This could not be happening right now!_

“Listen,” Rose turned, pulling her headphones off, looking uncharacteristically serious, “I think it's time you went down to IT. This is no time to worry about all the rest of your shit with Solo. You _ need _ to get this SOX cert done or we lose the order credit. Don’t fuck this up, Jackson.”

“Right, right, no, I know...I’m going, I’m going.” Grabbing her laptop, Rey raced for the elevators, stabbing at buttons and sliding into the car as it thankfully opened immediately.

Skidding into the IT bay, after an interminable elevator ride, Rey looked frantically around. The only person around was elbow deep in the innards of what looked like a computer that had spilled its guts all over her desk. 

Looking up and seeing Rey, the girl nodded towards a touchscreen kiosk. “Go ahead and get a ticket, someone in the queue will be with you as soon as one of us get free.”

_ One of us? There was no one else around! _

“Listen, this is really urgent, it’s time sensitive. I need this fixed right now!”

The girl gave her a mournful look and shook her head, “I’m really sorry but I can’t drop this right now, or I’m going to have to start all over again. Someone will get to you, don’t worry.” And so saying, stuck her head back into the belly of the beast. 

Cursing inwardly, but knowing better than to say anything out loud, Rey stalked over to the kiosk and jabbed at the overly happy looking symbols asking her what her problem was.

“I’ll tell you what my problem is, you stupid machine!” She muttered darkly at it, glaring as it generated a ticket number, a piece of arcania that was only going to cost her more time lost. “I’ll-” 

“What did you break now?” At the sound of the bass growl from behind her, Rey froze, her finger hovering over the button she’d been relentlessly mashing.

_ God, no - anyone but him! _

“I didn’t break anything!” She retorted automatically as she spun around to scowl up at the King of the Underworld.

_ Liar. _

He looked at her in a very unimpressed manner, arms crossed over his chest, as he frowned down at her. Rey tried not to be distracted by the sight of his ridiculous forearms—_ complete with a fucking vein! _—that were exposed by his rolled up sleeves.

“I find that hard to believe considering how you’re attacking the ticket machine.” He arched an eyebrow at her, looking highly skeptical at her claim of innocence.

“It's this stupid new app, it won’t let me log in to certify and I need to get the SOX cert done _ now _.” She hated that her voice tightened as it hit her how much she had to lose if the damned certification was not done.

Tilting his head, he looked at the laptop in her hand and then back up at her. “Why aren’t you certifying from your laptop if the app isn’t working.”

Flushing, Rey bit her lip, angry at having been caught out “My laptop won’t start and I don’t have the time to get it looked at right now. Not in time for this anyway.”

Sighing, he looked at his watch and then waving her over, turned around and walked away.

When she didn’t immediately follow him, he looked over his shoulder and asked, “What, do you want this fixed or not?”

Scrambling, Rey hurried after him.

Walking into his cabin he held a hand out and when she hesitated, he pointed at the laptop.

“But-” she stopped when he raised a finger. 

Glowering she subsided while he took the laptop over to his desk and seated himself as he flipped open and tried to start it. When the display stuttered he looked up at her with a frown.

“What the hell did you do to this?”

“It slipped out of my hands, ok? It was in the case and everything. It's not my fault these things are so damned flimsy!”

He lifted the laptop and peered around the edges before fixing her with an accusing look, “There's no way this was in the cases I’ve issued.” 

“Of course not, those are ugly as fuck! It was in my bag.” 

For a long moment he started at her like maybe she’d sprouted antennae or some such alien appendage. 

“The case was ugly so you let a $500 piece of equipment fall and break? Jesus, Jackson, even _ you _ can’t be that stupid.” He finally exclaimed angrily.

“Look, I don’t have the time for another of your lectures! Your bloody app doesn’t work and I’m running out of time. I _ need _ to get this sex cert done in the next 10 minutes or I will lose the deal. Do you understand that?” She leaned over the table as she spat the words out.

Only when Ben stared at her with wide eyes did Rey realize exactly what she’d said and clapped a hand to her mouth.

On top of everything else, she didn’t need to be blurting about sex to him, of all people, much less risk an HR citation for workplace harassment. 

“That’s not what I meant, I… that was a slip of the tongue. I meant SOX,” she enunciated the last clearly, her nervousness making itself clear in how she twisted her fingers together.

Blinking he heaved a sigh and gestured for her to hand him the phone, “Just give me the damned thing.”

Taking the phone from her, he muttered as he flipped through screens, “Why the hell are you doing this at the last minute?”

“If you must know, I was out closing the largest frickin’ deal of the year and was stuck in the air flying back. So yeah, I did not have the time to do this, okay. Are you going to help me or just keep busting my balls?”

Sliding the phone back across the desk to her, he leaned back and crossed his arms again, his expression sardonic.

“If you are all done having a fit, Princess, you can finish your precious certification. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.” And so saying he turned away, blatantly dismissing her as he busied himself with the multiple screens gracing one entire wall of his cabin. 

The rug having been pulled out from under her feet, Rey wordlessly picked the phone up to find that it had indeed been set all ready for her click on a button and complete the process that almost cost her her commission. 

A few taps and she was all done, confirmation in her inbox and the quarter all squared away, thank you very much. 

Feeling very wrongfooted, especially after the way she’d yelled at him, Rey looked at Ben’s profile as he resolutely ignored her and bit her lip. 

“Um… yeah, uh, thank you for that.” She said quietly.

His hands paused in whatever he was doing, however he didn’t turn around to face her. “Its fine, Jackson, just doing my job.” He continued with his typing, his dismissal clear even to the blind.

Turning to let herself out, Rey paused as he called out, in an infuriatingly cheerful voice, “Oh, don’t forget to leave your laptop at the front and give us positive feedback when you close out your ticket.”

Seething inwardly, but refusing to show one whit of expression, Rey stalked away.

…

  
  


Rey shoved her bag hazardly into an overhead bin, talking over her shoulder to Rose as she did, "-wanted a break for so long, we better get some down time while we're here!" Dusting her hands, she went to pull her jacket off, when Rose yelped.

"Watch your head!"

Ducking automatically, Rey twisted to see what it was when a large hand snaked in front of her face, grabbing the bag that was sliding out, stabilizing it before effortlessly pushing it back in and securing it. 

"Than-" turning with a smile, Rey stopped, a frown instantly falling in place at the sight of Ben Solo's sneering face. 

"If this is how you treat your things, it's no wonder we're always having to replace your gear."

Rey yanked her jacket off and shoved it after the bag he’d just finished placing, scowling darkly at him as she turned to face him, fists on her hips.

For a brief second his eyes dropped to her chest, widening almost imperceptibly before he snapped them back up to look at her, catching the full blast of her glare.

_ What the fuck? Did he just check her out? The nerve of the man! _

Even if she’d been inclined to be mildly charitable because he _ did _ save her from getting decked, all good intentions burned away in the flame of her anger.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Solo? I didn’t think you IT slugs crawled out from under your rocks during the daytime, much less in sunshine.”

Almost as though it had never left his face the sneer was back in place. “You’re confusing us with bloodsucking leeches. You might want to look in a mirror for that, Jackson.”

And then he was walking away, leaving Rey gaping in his wake.

“Sure you don’t want something for that burn?” Rose asked archly when Rey slid into her seat, buckling herself in automatically, mind still reeling from the bite of his response.

“Don’t be silly, as if anything he says is worth listening to.” Rey said, trying very much not to snap at one of her oldest and closest friends. 

“Mmhmm, methinks the lady doth protest too much.” Rose continued flipping through her magazine, not looking at Rey for all that one side of her mouth was curling in a smirk.

“Shut up, he’s just a lowlife pervert who just openly ogled me,” Rey shifted in her seat, trying to get comfortable but feeling too irritated to manage.

“What?” that made Rose drop the act and turn around with her eyes wide.

Crossing her arms under her breasts—thank god they weren’t big enough to shove up into her face whenever she did that—Rey kicked idly at the foot of the seat in front of her as she glared at her shoe. 

“Yeah, I took my jacket off and Mr. High and Mighty’s eyes went right to the girls, like they were magnetized or something. I mean, I know I look good in this shirt, but seriously, why are all guys such jerks? It’s not like I want _ him _ looking at me.” 

_ Liar, _the little voice in the back of head whispered.

That was what was really bothering her, she suddenly realized, finding out that Ben Solo was just as much of a perv as any other guy. She didn’t like knowing that she was bothered by it, it wasn’t like she had the guy on a pedestal or anything, but there wasn’t much she could do about it just then. 

“I don’t think that’s what it was, not Solo. He probably just noticed you were wearing a Galaxy Wars t-shirt like he was.”

“What?” Rey paused in her aimless kicking—thankfully the seat in front of her had yet to be occupied—and cocked an eye at Rose. 

“Well, yeah, didn’t you notice he was wearing one as well?”

_ Well, shit. _

“Huh,” Rey gulped, “no, I was too spitting mad to see anything. I mean, why is he even here? Isn’t this trip meant to only be for the folks in Winners’ Circle? Why is IT here?”

Sighing, Rose leaned back and patted Rey’s arm. “Girl, you know I love you, but this thing with you and Solo? It’s getting ridiculous and tiring. There’s no reason why the two of you can’t just sit down and figure out this bullshit tension between you. Talk, kiss, fuck, do something! But stop behaving like idiot kids. Seriously… and just so you know, he’s at Winners’ Circle _ every _ year - it's not just something for Sales.”

_ That _ she did not know. 

Deciding that retreat was the better part of valour, Rey settled for just glaring at her friend and slamming her earbuds in to drown the voice of sense out in loud music for the rest of the flight.

…

“Alright everyone, gather ‘round! We’re going to do some fun things today! Don’t think of this as just a team building exercise, we’re going to make sure you have fun!”

The MC flicked her artfully curled hair over her shoulder as she paced in front of the gathering. 

“Where do they find these people? I swear they get perkier every year!” Rey groaned in Rose’s ear as she sidling up, surreptitiously taking a slurp of her coffee. They weren’t supposed to bring food and drink into the room, but she couldn’t resist the lovely macchiato the barista had been plying her with since they’d gotten to the resort. Plus, who the hell got up with the larks to _ team-build, for fuck’s sake? _ Rey was still half asleep, had missed breakfast, and was desperate to either caffeinate or go curl up with a pillow. She knew what _ her _ first preference was.

Chuckling Rose shoulder checked her, “Do you mean the personality or the boobs?”

Snorting, Rey quickly hid her to-go cup as Wedge turned around and raised an eyebrow at the sound. Shaking her head, and smiling blandly at him, Rey whispered after he’d turned his eyes back to the front. “You think that’s a requirement when the event guys go hunting?” Panning a hand in front of them, miming a marquee, she continued soto voice, “‘Desperately cheerful at fucking dawn, must be able to float on own.’ Give us a real person up there sometime, godammit!”

“Maybe they should have you be the MC sometime, that should sort things out.” Rose flashed her a look, the grin on her face telling Rey that she agreed with the assessment.

Tuning out the sound of bright chatter, Rey continued to pull small sips of coffee and let her mind wander, trusting Rose to keep her safe if they got called on.

The loud clapping of the MC’s hands pulled her back from her wandering on to find that Rose was stepping away from her.

“Right, let’s all pair off, quickly. You have five minutes to find your partner!”

As Rey turned to follow Rose, her partner shook her head and pointed her chin off to the other side of the room. “I’m with Trent on this one, babe. Sorry!” Grimacing, Rose turned and walked over to where the man in question was waiting.

_ Why was she sorry? _

A throat cleared behind her and a suddenly ominous pang went through Rey.

_ No, it couldn’t be. There was no way she was paired with… _

Rey schooled her features and turned around to find herself eye-level with a starched shirt-front. As her eyes rose, knowing who she was going to find, she couldn’t help but absently admire the valiant buttons that kept the man decent, straining as they were over the breadth of his chest. _ Jesus fuck, was he built! _

And then she was meeting his eyes, the amber colored orbs swirling as they regarded her, belying the otherwise calm facade he had on. 

_ Ben fuckin’ Solo. There had to be a mistake. _

“I...” she began, starting to raise her hand to call over the woman up front. 

“Don’t bother - the pairing was handed to her, she just called out the names.”

“How do you know this?” She frowned up at him, wondering at the way he seemed to have read her mind.

He shrugged, a sardonic look deepening the crease next to that ridiculous mouth, “I pay attention, Jackson.”

_ Dammit. _

Scoffing, Rey turned and faced forward. She could do this, whatever it was. She would show him, nothing fazed Rey Jackson.

_ Except when- _

She firmly shut down her internal voice, refusing to acknowledge that she’d ever shown weakness in front of the man looming next to her. Focusing on what was being said, she froze as the words filtered in and made sense.

She was wrong. She couldn’t do this. Not with him.

Trust falls. 

Inexplicable nervousness ran through her, butterflies taking flight by the dozens and her mouth running dry at the mere thought of touching Ben Solo. She didn’t know what was worse, that she would have her hands on him—_ finally _ !—and have to touch that hard body she’d only fantasized about. Or that his hands would be on her, holding _ her _ . _ Fuck. _

Her eyes searched the room for Rose, needing something, _ anything _, to ground her. Looking up, as though sensing Rey’s thoughts, Rose looked from her to Ben and back again. And then dropped a long, deliberate wink.

_ What? What the- _

If she didn’t know any better she would think Rose had something to do with having her paired with Solo. _ No, that’s ridiculous, why would she… _

Rey’s eyes widened as she started at her friend, remembering every single time Rose had urged her to stop fighting the man and actually do something about the tension between them. Even as recently as on the flight over. _ Fuck. _

She risked sneaking a look up at her partner, freezing when she realized that he was doing the same, staring down at her with an expression she’d never seen on him before. Damned if she knew how to read the flicker in his eyes, one he quickly masked before breaking their shared look.

In silence they followed the directions being called out, hesitating for a moment to decide who would go first. Rey waved Ben forward, not overthinking why she wanted to be the one to catch him first. 

Giving her another inscrutable look, he gave her a sharp nod and then stepped in front of her, moving a few paces forward to give himself room to fall backwards. He didn’t look in the least bit nervous that he would be pitching his not-inconsiderable height and weight towards the floor, and that the only thing between him and potential injury was the woman who was constantly fighting with him and being nasty.

Rey swallowed thickly as she fully realized what it would take to do that, the level of blind trust it would take to let someone else catch you when you fall. Come to think of it, she wasn’t so sure she was the best person to do this.

Almost as though she could read everyone's minds, or possibly just seeing the flashes of uncertainty that was on more than face, the woman called out over her mike, “You’ve all got this - I know it can be scary to think of losing just that bit of control, but this is about trusting your partner to make sure you’re ok even when you are not in control. Look at your partner in the eye, you know you’ve both got this.”

_ Did she got this? _

Rey wasn’t so sure when Ben twisted around to pin her with another look that she could not read. Their eyes searched each other's for an interminable moment, her heart racing as she tried not to think of all the nasty things she’d ever said to him. She was honest enough with herself to know that some of them had been absolute bitch quality, but there was nothing she could do about that now. 

Then, Ben was giving her a little smile, and speaking softly, his low rumble washing over her in a ridiculous manner, “Don't look so terrified Jackson, it’s going to be okay.”

And she found herself believing him.

Then, all to soon, he was turning around and tipping backwards. Rey stared in horror at the expanse of his back falling towards her, towards… _ the floor _! Realizing she hadn’t made a move, Rey rushed in, intent only on not letting him hit the ground. 

As they collided with each other, Rey’s arms went around his waist and she ended up with her face pressed up against his back, her heart beating wildly as she realized that _ he was still moving backwards. _

Ben had frozen in her arms, his arms splayed out for balance as his weight slowly bore her down. With a muffled squeak, Rey tightened her hold on him, her hands fisting in his shirt, scrabbling as she felt the muscles of his stomach contract under her fingers. Pressing closer she tried to push up against his bulk, like she was shoring up a mountain that seemed intent on falling on her. Then, a warmth was surrounding her as he wrapped a large hand around hers, and shifted his feet so that he was more balanced.

They hung in a moment of suspended animation, plastered to each other, hands linked as their breathed in unison. His back felt warm, solid, _ indestructible _ , her cheek and breasts pressing flat against him, a thought that made something clench in her. After over a year of only imagining what he would feel like under her hands, here he was. _ Not quite the same thing. But still. _

He could probably feel every bit of her elevated breathing. His fingers clenched around hers and Rey realized that his breathing was deepening as well, his back flexing against her face just a little bit faster - _ was… was this affecting him just as much as it was her? _

Rey couldn't help the whimper that escaped at the thought that he was getting just as ridiculously turned on. Then the bubble was broken and he was disengaging and stepping away, the sound of everyone clapping as they successfully completed one part of the exercise, finally filtering into her consciousness that had only known _ Ben Solo _ till that very second.

She wiped her palms against her jeans, trying to be surreptitious about it. Unfortunately he noticed and leaned in to ask “Trying to wipe me off your hands, Jackson?”

“What? No!” she protested, not wondering why she’d didn’t want him think that.

“Relax,” he chuckled, the sound making something loosen in her, “I’m just pulling your leg.”

Rey stared up at him, her mind whirling at his teasing.

_ Why was he being so normal with her? _

Before she could overthink it, needing only to get rid of the twinge of guilt, Rey quickly blurted, “Listen, about what I said on the flight? I'm… I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”

He raised wondering brows at her and blinked, “So, I’m _ not _a slug?”

_ Dammit, was he going to make her grovel? _

Tightening her lips, Rey shook her head, not letting her eyes fall from his. 

“In that case, I’m sorry, as well.” He leaned close and breathed softly, “you are definitely _ not _ a leech.” 

A shiver ran through her at the sound of his voice. _ Jesus, fuck, she needed to stop reacting to this man! _

Before she could say anything, they were all being asked to switch places and get started with the next phase of the exercise. Shifting till she stood in front of Ben, Rey took a deep breath and, spreading her arms out, tipped back on her heels and let herself fall. A feeling of weightlessness hit her, the swoop of vertigo making her heart race as she felt herself go. When nothing stopped her fall, panic started to claw at her throat. _ Oh, god, he wasn’t going to catch her! He was going to let her fall! _

Just a heartbeat before she lurched out of her fall, her hands starting to grab at air for purchase, he caught her. As his hands slid around her, and her shoulder came to rest against his chest, she finally let herself breathe, dropping her head back with relief. He had her, he hadn't let her splat, after all. With her eyes closed, rising and falling with Ben’s every breath, Rey let herself soak in the feeling of his fingers splayed around her ribs, almost wrapping all the way around her torso._ Fuck, just how big were his hands? _

She was preternaturally conscious that he was a hair’s breadth away from touching the underside of her breasts. An image flashed in her head, of his hands moving to cup her chest, his broad palms swallowing her as he pulled her back into himself. Unable to stop herself, she shifted, sliding infinitesimally till she could feel his fingers pressing into the soft globes. 

Ben froze behind her, holding his breath for what seemed like an eternity before it left him in a rush. He shifted, hands tightening around her, and then Rey’s eyes popped open as she felt warmth against the side of her face. Resolutely she kept her eyes facing forward, steeling herself to not turn towards him. Again, they hung for long moments, Rey only aware only of the solid strength of the man behind her, his slightly ragged breathing brushing warmly past her ear with every exhale, the twitching of his fingers as though he too ached for them to move north of where they currently rested. Closing her eyes, she let her head rest against his shoulder, _ just for a moment, just for now. _

The MC’s strident voice once more broke rudely over them, not unlike being hit in the face by a wave when you least expected it. 

Ben released her slowly, almost reluctantly. Clearing his throat his eyes skidded away from her as he asked, "I, uh, I hope I didn't grab you too roughly."

Rey shook her head. "No, that was just fine." Her voice was low and she hoped her disappointment didn't show.

"Oh good," he shifted next to her, shoving his hands into his pockets, "that's good."

As everyone clapped, Rey swallowed and looked away.

…

Rey smoothed her hands down her sides and looked over re reflection in the mirror. For some reason she felt nervous about looking her best for that evening. 

_ Face it, it's because of Ben. _

She would continue to be paired with Ben for the evening’s activities, which involved some unnamed performance-style thing to be done by the previously paired partners. The MC had refused to tell them what it was, only that it would depend on who they came dressed up as.

Rey had already planned to go to the movie-themed dinner event as Kira from Galaxy Wars. Though, now knowing that Ben was also a fan, she chewed on the edge of her lip as she trying to think who or what he would go as.

_ Maybe he’ll come as Kylo? _

Rey flushed as she thought of Ben dressed up as Kira’s star-crossed love interest - all brooding, dangerous male with a massive red sword. 

_ I wonder what his sword would be like… _She told herself that she meant the weapon and not anything euphemistic.

Flicking her eyes over herself again, taking in the costume she wore: dark tunic and leggings that flattered her slim, tall build, thin wraps that crossed her chest, emphasizing her firm if small breasts, leather bracers on her wrists, real-looking laser sword at her waist. She looked good, she knew, but that didn’t help the little quaver in her belly at the thought of enacting something with Ben Solo.

Waiting for the elevator, Rey stooped to straighten her outfit, giving herself the once-over in the mirrors hung around the foyer, fiddling with the fall before setting her wraps just so.

In front of her, the elevator dinged and the doors slid open, revealing an empty car. Rey stepped in, bending to fasten her sword to her belt as she did so. 

“Fuck me.”

As the sound of the softly spoken interjection, in Ben’s voice, Rey snapped up and around, realizing that the elevator car hadn’t been empty after all. Her eyes widened as she realized that not only had he come dressed as Kylo Ren, for her luck he filled the costume to what seemed like bursting point, the matte-black knight’s outfit looking like it had been painted on him by how it strained around his arms and chest.

_ Fuck me indeed. _

As though realizing what he’d said, like the words had been surprised out of him, Ben quickly shook his head, looking at Rey with wide eyes.

“No, no, I didn't mean it like that! I-”

Raising a hand, Rey stopped him. “Its fine, Solo. Let’s call it even shall we? No point getting HR involved in the shit we both apparently spout.”

The relief was clear on his face as he slumped back in the corner of the elevator where he’d wedged himself. 

Rey stuck to her side of the car as they rode in silence, trying not to think about the man across from her. Though it was hard to ignore the fact that they were both dressed as characters who, in the movie, ended up giving in to their burgeoning feelings for each other and doing the nasty. In an elevator. 

Unless she missed her guess, the same thought had crossed Ben’s mind as well, going by the quick looks he was shooting her, each time his eyes skittering away as though burned. He looked good, and she knew she did too. Shifting her feet, she looked at the display of slowly descending numbers, cursing whoever had built the elevator they were in. Why couldn’t it move quickly for just once!

Ben ran a finger around the neck of his outfit, tugging at it as though it was constricting him, sneaking another look at her and freezing when his eyes met hers. 

Rey could feel her throat running dry, pulse beating wildly as the air between them seemed to thicken, almost throb with tension. It felt like it had earlier that afternoon, when he had her in his arms. She’d almost thought there had been a moment when-

But then, he’d backtracked faster than a snake slithering into a hole in the ground.

Swallowing hard, she scrambled to find her mental footing - she was _ not _ about to make a fool of herself with bloody Ben Solo! 

Things had been simple when all they did was be nasty to each other. However, the past few interactions with Ben had thrown her, leaving her unable to find her balance. As contrary as it was, her being able to quietly lust after Ben while being flaming mad at him had seemed to _ work _ for her. No mess, no fuss, nothing ever possible and therefore nothing to ruin or be ruined by. That’s what she wanted. Not all this his being nice and helping her and pulling her leg and… _ Oh, my god, was Ben Solo trying to flirt with her? _

Rey’s eyes flew up, wide in response to her internal yammerings. Like filings drawn to a magnet his turned to meet hers. For an eternity it felt like there was something cracking in the air between them, making it hard to breathe as disjointed thoughts—_ possibilities, so many possibilities— _ whirled in her head in response to what she could see on his face. And a trace of something she could not, _ would not _ decipher… but it left her knees feeling like jelly, far more than any naked want he may have let show. She and Ben. Ben and her. Was that even a possibility? Or was this all just a physical reaction borne of being in such close contact with each other?

_ Yeah, that’s all it was. Nothing to see here people, let’s just keep moving. _

Before she could start spiralling like some blushing schoolgirl with a ridiculous crush, Rey’s sense of self-preservation kicked in and she reeled herself back in, breaking their contact and turning resolutely to face the elevator doors. 

When the elevator stopped after what felt like an interminably long ride, she zipped out, barely waiting till there was enough space for her to clear the opening doors, ignoring the fact that Ben was raising a hand towards her. 

Grabbing a drink she wound her way through the crowd of her colleagues who were already gathered, smiling as the sight of people she was used to seeing in suits and other normal, boring outfits now in brightly coloured costumes, and in one case even spangled spandex. _ Not with that gut, no you don’t, Chad! _

Giving the unfortunate a pained smile in response to his cheerful greeting, Rey turned away and raised her drink to take a sip. She needed something to cleanse her visual palette after that! 

_ Something like Ben Solo filling his Kylo costume to bursting point. _

As though summoned by the very thought, the crowd parted and he stepped up to her, his expression inscrutable as he watched her pause with the glass held up to take a sip. As she watched his eyes dropped to her mouth and he visibly swallowed when she did, his gaze darkening when her tongue darted out to swipe the drops of liquid left on her lips.

“Alright everyone, gather ‘round! Let's kick this evening off! Find your partners from earlier today and get ready! Let’s put all these amazing costumes to good use! I hope you’ve brought your best acting skills with you tonight...”

The strident tones of the MCs voice broke over them both, grabbing the moment by the scruff of the neck and tossing it away like an unwanted puppy. Wordlessly, Ben and Rey turned to face the stage, where the gaily-dressed woman was looking out at all the gathered groups with unholy glee on her face. When her eyes landed on Rey and Ben, and their matching costumes, she actually clapped her hands and let out a little squeal.

“Oh I know exactly who can start us off! Give it up for these guys who are _ killing _ it with their matching Galaxy Wars costumes! 

_ Shit, no! _

Rey froze. She was not ready to go up there and put some shit on just to amuse her colleagues. If the way Ben’s jaw was clenched was any indication, he agreed with her. 

However, the woman’s enthusiastic clapping just made sure the people around them prodded them forward until they were reluctantly climbing up the single step and onto the stage. 

“What do you think folks? What shall we have them do? How about they do a scene from the movie!”

“Bridal carry!”

“No, the fight in the forest!”

“The hut scene!”

“The elevator scene!” someone yelled, to loud hoots.

_ Yeah, sure, Chad, like we’re going to do that up here for you to watch. _

“Oh wait!” The MC grinned wickedly, raising a hand to pause the litany being called out by the audience, “I have it! The thigh grab!”

_ No, no!*l _

Rey didn’t miss the way Ben seemed to grow a shade paler as the puerile crowd howled its approval.

Something in her twinged in response to his obvious distress. Until a sobering thought filtered its way in. Maybe he didn't really like the idea of her putting her hands on him after all?

The MC was turning to them and leading everyone in a chant: Thigh-grab! Thigh-grab! Thigh-grab!”

_ Seriously, how old were these people? Twelve?! _

“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” She said in a low voice as Ben turned to her, his fists clenching and releasing as he did. 

His eyes snapped to hers for a quick second and then he was shaking his head. “No, it's fine. Let’s get this over with.” his voice was sharp as he shook out the hand holding the red sword.

That, if nothing else, convinced her that she’d just been imagining whatever she thought she saw earlier.

_ Right, business as usual. Just like you wanted. _

Fighting the disappointment that washed over her, Rey nodded and turned to face him fully, unhooking her own blue sword and stepping closer leaving a scant foot between them. 

“On three then… one, two…”

As she counted three, they spun in opposite directions until they were back to back, swords raised and held in both hands. Then, moving in smooth unison, as thought they had practised the moves a million times, Ben planted his feet and leaned forward, letting Rey brace herself against his back. As he slashed at an imaginary opponent in front of him, Rey reached around to grab his thigh as she kicked out hard with her foot, visualizing it meeting the overly-cheerful MC’s face as she did, not having to even fake the fierce glare that she gave the woman as she did.

Whoops and cheers filled the air as Rey and Ben held the pose for a beat. She tried not to think of his rock-hard muscles clenching under her hand and instead kept her narrowed gaze on the crowd in front of them as she seethed. 

_ Fucking perverts! _

Then, they were breaking from pose, getting off the stage and leaving way for the evening’s next victims to take their place.

As Rose rushed her to squee at her, Rey saw Ben stalk away, shouldering his way through the crowd without even a backward glance. Tightening her lips against the abrupt swoop she felt in her stomach, Rey steeled herself to ignore the man and proceeded to let Rose pull her into the spirit of the celebration. And if she drank more than she should have, well, it had nothing to do with an over tall, muscle-brained jerk of a man.

Later that night, her feelings of hurt having sufficiently been dulled by the flowing alcohol, Rey found herself up on the stage that had now been converted into a makeshift dancefloor. As she swayed and wiggled her hips to the loud music, hands thrown in the air, she could have sworn she felt a prickling on her skin. Turning, she paused mid-beat when she saw Ben staring at her from the far end of the ballroom, his eyes glittering. From her vantage point, she could she his nostrils flare and then he was turning to stalk out of the hall.

A sudden anger rushed through her, buoying her with its familiarity. This, _ this _ is what she was used to feeling for Ben fuckin’ Solo. And how dare his royal high and mighty-ness turn his nose up at her and walk away? Who the fuck did he think he was?

Before she knew it, Rey found herself stumbling off the stage and pushing her way through oblivious people to follow him. For some reason, she needed to find Ben and ask him. She didn’t stop to question her instinct to do so. 

“Hey!” She called out, as she skidded out of the room in pursuit, catching up with Ben as he reached the elevators and jabbed at the buttons. 

When he didn’t respond to her, she stalked over and grabbed his elbow, trying to make him turn but only succeeding in lurching closer to him as he remained immovable. 

“I’m talking to you, dammit!”

“What do you want, Jackson?” He asked through clenched teeth.

“I want answers!”

Turning he frowned at her, looking down his long nose at her as she swayed on her feet. 

“Why do you hate me?” 

“What?” he blinked at her.

When she reached up, finally giving in to temptation and letting her hand run down his chest, he grabbed her hand, arresting its movement.

“You’re plastered,” he said flatly, his eyes accusing her. As thought he had a right to. 

“I said, why do you hate me?” Rey tried to pry her hand out of his tightening grasp, going so far as to shove at his shoulder with her other hand to get leverage. And then suddenly she was free, stumbling back as he turned and stepped closer. And then again till she was almost nose-to-chest with him. Lifting her head she saw him give her a strange look.

Then, he spoke, his voice low and intense, making her stomach drop with every word as he counted them off on his large fingers, “You are impatient, you are careless and you think just because you are this hot shot sales person you can get away with a complete disregard for company property or process. You don’t even _ stop _ to think about the people around you or that they have jobs to do too. You are just so… _ infuriating _.” his hands clawed, vibrating as though with the need to grab her and shake her but was holding back from doing that. 

She wasn’t going to cry. No she wasn’t, not over this asshole.

He wasn’t done though, bending till he was pinning her with his eyes. She closed her eyes, hating that she was showing weakness, but not willing to let him see the tears that were pricking.

“You are also resourceful and brilliant and don’t fucking know when you’re _ beat _ . You are loyal and you are funny. You have this… _ sarcastic _ sense of humour that always makes me want to laugh. And I can never get over the look in your eyes, when you’re fighting with me - you are just so _ fierce. _ And holding this killer bod in my arms, earlier today?” He held his hands out, waving at her body. “Having _ your _hands on me then and now? You have no idea how much this has been killing me.”

Her eyes popped open to see Ben stepping back, shaking his head, “I don’t hate you, Jackson. I just have no idea what to do with you.”

She stared at him, frozen, her brain stuttering as she tried to process what she was hearing, mouth opening and closing on nothing. 

Sighing, he turned away, “Just as I thought. Go back to your friends, Jackson - don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll have forgotten this highly inappropriate conversation in the morning.”

And then, he was stepping into the elevator and disappearing from her sight, leaving Rey feeling like she’d just missed something very major. Only she wasn’t too sure what.

  
  


…

When Rey woke up the next morning, head pounding and mouth feeling like sandpaper, it took her a while to pay attention to a stray thought that was scratching away at her. Something to do with Solo. 

Dismissing it in favor of groaning and rolling over, she thanked whoever had planned a late departure for them, that day - they probably knew the night before would be one for indulgences. 

It was much later, when she was scrubbed and washed and feeling far more human than when she’d woken up that Rey took another look at the insistant thought, the one about Ben Solo.

_ Something that he’d… done? _

_ No… that didn’t seem right. _

Collecting her things and shoving them any which way into her bags, Rey checked out and went hunting a much-needed breakfast. 

It was just as she bit into a slice of marmalade-slathered toast that she had another flash…

_ Of Ben… saying something? Or was it her? _

Chewing slowly, she frowned down at her plate as she tried to remember.

_ No, definitely him doing the talking. _

As she made to swallow, it hit her, right between the eyes.

_ “I don’t hate you... no idea what to do with you.” _

Choking, Rey tried to cough and swallow at the same time, managing to achieve neither motion. Distantly she was aware of someone pounding her on her back, as she hacked, tears streaming from her eyes. 

Finally, spitting up the mangled piece of toast, she drew shuddering breaths as a cup was pressed into her hands. 

Taking a deep draft, she swallowed automatically, not even tasting what she drank.

Her eyes wide, she could only heard Ben’s voice from the night before. And remembered her own spectacular lack of response. 

When she was roughly shaken, Rey snapped out of her fugue to see Rose’s concerned face hovering over her. 

“Rey, dammit, are you okay? Say something”

Nodding, she desperately clutched at Rose’s hands, “Rose, I think I fucked up really bad..”

“It’s ok, you were just choking on your breakfast… I wouldn’t go so far-”

“No! Not that… I mean, thank you… but, I…” Her voice trailed away as Rey searched for the words. 

How as she going to explain to Rose that the man she’d been spitting at for over a year was exactly who she wanted? And that apparently he did want her as well… or did he?

She had to know, she had to know for sure.

“Babe, you aren’t making much sense… what’s going on? Are you okay?” Rose slipped into the chair next to her, taking Rey’s hands in both of hers.

Rey told her to whole thing… her lusting after Ben the whole time that she’d been fighting him tooth and nail, the connection she thought they’d had during the trust falls, her drunken confrontation and what she remembered of his confession to her.

Rose’s jaw dropped lower with every word till Rey finally wound down, dropping her face into her hands as she wailed, “I didn’t even say anything to him, Rose, I let him just walk away and stood there gaping like a fish!”

“I… hold on, you got grabby with the guy _ without _talking to him, like I told you to?”

“We were doing _ trust falls _ Rose, those are _ meant _ to get grabby, okay!” Rey growled, lifting her head to glare at her friend.

“Yeah, okay, I’ll give you that. But you guys didn’t talk about anything?”

“I mean, he was being nice, and I apologized for calling him names, and..”

“Okay, okay, I get the idea… you finally discovered how to have a normal, adult conversation.” 

Heaving an exasperated sigh, Rose muttered something about _ about time _ before she sat up, placing both hands on the table.

“Ok, so take a few steps back. He definitely said he has feelings for you?”

Rey nodded, chewing on her lower lip as she picked at the table cloth.

“And what about you? Is this just physical? Or is there something more?”

“I… think there could be? More, I mean…” Rey threw her hands up, her face crumpling, “I thought it was all in my head, and I didn’t want to put myself out there and risk being shot down. That’s why I’ve never said anything before. I mean, what if he said something nasty to me? I don’t think I could take that!”

Rose regarded her friend steadily and then, reaching over, gently took Rey’s hand. “I get that, I really do. But do you realize, from what you’ve told me, he’s never once said anything unprovoked to you?” 

Rey opened her mouth to respond and stopped. Rose was right - Ben had never started anything she hadn’t poked at already.

Closing her mouth she started at their clasped hands before raising miserable eyes to her friend. “Oh, Rose I've completely fucked things up, haven’t I? He must hate me!”

“Hold on, back up - nothing’s fucked up, yet. And he evidently doesn’t hate you or we wouldn’t be having this conversation, okay? If you made a mess of things, I know you can fix it just as easily.” 

Rose leaned in, her grip tightening as she said, fiercely, “It’s not too late. Go and find him, talk to him. Don’t you dare give up, Jackson!

“Yeah?" Rey gave her a tremulous smile

“Fuck, yeah!”

Breakfast forgotten, Rey shot out of her chair, giving the restaurant a quick sweep for a tall, dark someone. Not seeing him, she ran out the door and to where everyone else was gathering, almost ready for departure. 

A frustrating fifteen minutes later, having checked all the common areas she could think of, Rey went up to the coordinator to ask if Ben had come through.

Checking his clipboard, the man shook his head, “He’s not showing on this list, hold on let me check if there was a special request or anything.” Pulling out his phone he flipped through some messages, nodding slowly as he did, completely oblivious to Rey’s inner turmoil. 

“Okay, found it. Your friend’s already left - he apparently had an emergency and had to take the first flight out.”

With a sinking in her gut, Rey knew there was no emergency. Numbly she thanked the coordinator and stumbled away. He’d left because of her.

…

Not that Rey needed an excuse to go on down to the IT bay, but it was probably a good thing that she could hang around there under the pretext of waiting for her new laptop to be readied.

As she perched on the desk next to the engineer who was loading the software she would need, she pointed her chin at Ben’s darkened cabin and asked, oh so casually, “So, where’s your boss these days? I don’t see him around much?”

A fact which was stuck in her craw, right from the minute she’d found out that Ben Solo had left rather than face her, the day after their not so epic confrontation. His status on the company directory showed as away, and there was no sign of him anywhere in the building. 

The engineer--Mitaka, she’d learned his name was--spared her a wary glance. Ben’s and her arguments were not new to pretty much everyone in the bay - it wasn’t as though either of them bothered to keep it quiet. However, to be looked as though he was checking for horns and a pitchfork… _ seriously? _

Rey huffed, but held her tongue - after all, she was the one who needed something.

_ And how is that different from every other time? _

Shushing her conscience, which had decided to sit up and pay attention after that startling confession from Ben, Rey returned Mitaka’s look with an innocent one of her own. 

“Um, yeah, he’s taken some time off.”

“Oh.”

She was silent for a moment and then tried prompting him again. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him take any time off.”

This time Mitaka stared at her like she’d grown an extra head, making her wish she’d quit while she was ahead. Just as she was about disengage, mentally hitting the abort button, he nodded excitedly, “I know right? Ben _ never _ takes time off. Like, ever. It must be something big for him to actually take his vacation days.”

“Or maybe he’s actually on vacation somewhere,” she hoped her voice was coming across as sufficiently unaffected and casual.

_ Interested in where Ben Solo might be? Who me? Not a chance… _

Mitaka snorted, bending his head back to his task, “Yeah, right, that I’d give good money to see. Ben actually standing down from work?” He paused and then looked up. “He’s probably sick or something,” He offered, with a faintly hopeful look, as though the thought of his superior being ill was preferable to his being on holiday. 

Rey blinked at him for a moment and smiled weakly in response.

_ I was right, these guys are nuts _

Thankfully oblivious to her inner monologue, Mitaka continued speaking, “Anyhow, it looks like this will take me longer than expected. Why don’t you check back in later, maybe tomorrow?”

Nodding her thanks, Rey fled before she said anything like she might once have.

...

  
  


Walking into the ballroom late on New Year’s Eve, as close to midnight as she could make it, Rey stopped for a moment to take in the decorations and all the sparkly tinsel someone had seen fit to deck the ceiling with, complete with a spinning disco ball. This is what she got for coming to a company new years party, but she reminded herself that she was here on a mission. All her wandering through the IT bay, chatting up Mitaka and the other engineers who were taking a break, had not only given her a new appreciation for the teams of men and women working tirelessly in the background to fix other people’s fuck-ups. It had also afforded her a tip on a location for a potential wild Ben Solo sighting. It appeared he was family friends with the company's owners—_ who knew!— _and would be expected to put in an appearance to ring in the New Year at the company party.

This was her one chance to find him and try to fix things. 

As she turned from the open bar, drink in hand, her perseverance was rewarded when she spied his tall form, across the way from her, propping up a wall as he looked out at the motley crowd of people drunkenly trying to dance to a mix of music she refused to acknowledge.

Her objective in her sights, Rey tossed her drink back at one go, grimacing as the alcohol hit the back of her throat and burned its way down into her belly. Setting the glass down, she needlessly straightened the shimmering silver bodycon dress, making sure its almost-nonexistent straps weren’t slipping off her shoulders as she stalked over to Ben.

Staring broodingly in front of him, not looking like he was even paying attention to the revelry, Ben barely noticed she was next to him. At least until she cleared her throat and then his eyes were zipping to hers before dipping to take her in. His eyes widened as the barely-there dress registered, and he froze for a second before pulling up to look at her face again. Tamping down the urge to smirk, she arched an eyebrow and stepped closer to him.

Before she lost her nerve, Rey reached out, proud of her fingers for not shaking as they brushed imaginary lint from his shoulders, smoothing over his lapel as she looked up at him from under her lashes.

“So, killer bod, huh?”

For a long moment Rey forgot to breathe as he just stared at her.

_ Please, let this work! _

“_ That _ was all you remembered from everything I said?” 

When that familiar, once-hated, smirk curled a corner of his lips the air rushed out of her in a whoosh that she didn’t even bother to disguise. The intense relief had Rey clutching his lapel before remembering to hold onto her composure. _ Easy girl, breathe! _

“Well, at least you’re talking to me instead of hopping on the first flight out.”

The smirk wiped off his face, a wariness replacing it as he looked intently at her, jaw ticking before he asked, his voice resigned, “What do you want, Jackson?”

She knew she needed to apologize, had even worked up a little speech about second chances. In that moment though, Rey found that she couldn’t remember one word of it. She could memorize a complex product pitch for technologies she’d never heard of--_ no one ever said sales meant understanding what you were selling! _\--but this simple thing she could not manage.

Keeping her eye firmly on his tie—a Kylo Ren red, she noted absently—Rey did the only thing she knew to in such situation. She decided to wing it.

_ Go hard or go home, right? _

“You said you didn’t know what to do with me. I may have some ideas for you.”

When Ben didn’t respond for what seemed like hours, she risked sneaking a look up at his face, only to find him staring at her with an inscrutable expression on his face.

_ At least he wasn’t walking away… _

Taking encouragement from that fact, she searched his eyes, holding his gaze steadily even when her idiot instincts were prodding her to gracefully retreat. 

Finally he spoke, his voice oddly tight as he asked, “What exactly are you trying to say, Rey?”

_ Rey. He’d called her ‘Rey’. That had to be good, right? _

She chewed on her lip as she considered how to proceed. Maybe it was time to woman up and come clean. “I’m trying to apologize, So- _ Ben. _ Everything you said to me, I…” She squirmed, still uncomfortable admitting how right he’d been. But she had a goal to make, so hopefully it would be worth it. She’d have to take that risk. “You’re right, I _ have _ been a jerk, and… all those other things as well, and I’m making an effort to… well, be more considerate, I guess?”

She flicked a look at his face, and was relieved to see no sign of gloating. It gave her the strength for the final push. “You were right about one other thing - I _ don’t _know when I’m beat. So... I’d like a second chance if you want to give it to me.”

Rey imagined this was what watching a sunrise was like - she wouldn’t know, she’d take Instagram’s word for it. But if it was anything like the light creeping into Ben’s expression, then maybe she would haul her ass out of bed someday and try to catch one.

For now though, all she wanted to catch was standing in front of her, apparently processing everything she was trying to tell him without making an ass of herself. Well, any more than she already had. 

“This was an apology?” His words had a thread of amusement running through them, for all the look in his eyes. 

She could give him that. After all, she had done her best goldfish expression when _ he’d _ tried to confess his feelings for her. In a ham-handed way, granted, but still… he _ had _ made the first move.

“It's the only one you’re getting Solo, so don’t make me regret it.” She couldn’t help warning him, though.

“I thought you sales types were far more eloquent than that, Jackson.” He raised an eyebrow at her, but she could see his lips trembling as he tried to keep from smiling. 

Feeling emboldened, Rey leaned into him, letting her weight settle on him as she did, her hand slipping up to curl around his tie.

Behind them, she could hear excited clapping and chanting as people started doing the countdown. 

"_ 10, 9, 8,.." _

“Do you really want to know how eloquent I can be, _ Ben?” _she asked throatily, a thrill running through her at his sharp intake of breath, the pulse in his neck jumping.

"_ 6, 5, 4…" _

His hands drifted up to settle at her waist, his fingers spanning her as they had a lifetime before, his thumbs rubbing lazy circles against her. 

“I have a feeling I’m about to find out.” His voice was deep and low, shooting a hot spark of awareness through her as he pulled her just a little bit closer to him

_ "3, 2, 1...Happy New Year!” _

Just as the clock struck the hour, Rey tugged on his tie and pulled him down to meet his mouth with hers. Ben and Rey barely heard the wild cheering as they finally kissed, mindless of anything but each other. 

Drawing apart, many, many minutes later, his hair and her lipstick decidedly worse for the wear, they stared in something like wonder, as they stood still wrapped in each other's arms.

"I think I finally know how to shut you up, Jackson." Ben drew his thumb lightly over her bottom lip, as he held her chin.

Rey chuckled and let him tilt her face back up to his.

"Happy New Year, Solo," she breathed just before his lips settled over hers again.

____

**Author's Note:**

> Big love to 
> 
> Em, [Wren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AKnightOfWren/pseuds/AKnightOfWren), and [LostInQueue](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostInQueue/pseuds/LostInQueue) and [Littlemistake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Littlemistake/pseuds/Littlemistake) for their help in keeping my feet on the ground and cleaning up my messes!💙
> 
> Azuwrite and [Daga](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dagagada/pseuds/Dagagada) for the lovely moodies!💙
> 
> Check out all their work - these ladies are da bomb!


End file.
